New Sculptures Announced for the Fourth Plinth in Trafalgar Square

Two new artworks have been selected for the Fourth Plinth in Trafalgar Square – one of the world’s most prestigious public art spaces.

A work called ‘Antelope’, which recognises anti-colonial campaigner John Chilembwe will occupy the plinth from September. It will be followed, in 2024, by 850 Improntas (850 Imprints) by Teresa Margolles.

Created by artist, and Oxford fine art professor, Samson Kambalu, Antelope recreates a 1914 photograph in sculptural form. It depicts Malawian Baptist preacher John Chilembwe beside European missionary John Chorley. In the sculpture, a larger-than-life-size Chilembwe wears a hat in an act of defiance against the colonial rules, which forbade Africans from wearing headgear in the presence of white people.

Chilembwe was killed in an uprising against the British Empire and is remembered in Malawi as a key figure in the struggle for independence.

According to Justine Simons, London’s deputy mayor for culture, the statue “shines a light on a hidden narrative of the British Empire and will reveal how a simple hat became a symbol for the fight for equality.”

Teresa Margolles’ 850 Improntas features casts of the faces of 850 trans people from across the world, arranged around the plinth in the form of a Tzompantli – a skull rack seen in early Central American civilisations.

The two works were chosen from an international shortlist by a commissioning group, chaired by writer and broadcaster, Ekow Eshun. Members of the public could also have their say, with 17,500 votes cast.

The plinth’s current sculpture THE END by Heather Phillipson – likened to a’ dollop of cream with a cherry on top’, will make way for the installation of Antelope next month.

Find out more about the new artworks on the Mayor of London website.